Silicon Alley Insider has challenged Sony’s marketing plans for PS3 saying it’s too expensive, not enough care for Blu-ray and has a ”mediocre game library”.
Sony shifted 378,000 PS3s this November, compared to 466,000 last year as sales are down 19 per cent reported NPD. Sony’s problem ”isn’t the recession, it’s the PS3.”
”So why is the PS3 flopping so badly?” writes the Silicon Alley Insider article, and answers with three major causes as to why.
The first being that it’s ”the most expensive console on the market, $150 - $200 more than its rivals.” Despite all the hype this recession will make us pinch pennies and look for bargains as we become more much ”price-conscious.”
The second is that despite its ”ability to double as a Blu-Ray player,” not enough care about high definition DVDs, or even know they exist. ”The differences between Blu-Ray and DVD are hard to see on a TV less than 50.”
Thirdly, the PS3 doesn’t have ”any must-have titles exclusive to the console.” They report that LittleBigPlanet has generated ”decent buzz but isn’t a game-changer, and neither is Sony’s new virtual world ‘Home.’”
So the solution then from Silicon Alley Insider? Sony should unleash a wave of ”deep price cuts” to make it a far more attractive buy. ”Tell yourself the PS3 has superior graphics if it makes you feel better, but a $400 console with a mediocre game library simply cannot compete against an Xbox 360 priced at $200 in this economy,” they concluded.
